I am utterly flabbergasted that McCain chose Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. There were rumors, but it didn’t seem likely, what with her being a woman and utterly inexperienced on the national level of politics. It is, as one article said, a Hail Mary pass, and I have an absolute horror of it doing what they hope: pulling disenfranchised female Democrats to the Republican ticket. All I can think is I hope not one of the women who make that choice ever knows anybody who needs an abortion. I would like to think that nobody’s that dumb, but the last two presidential elections in the States have made me a whole lot more cynical than I once was.

As soon as this was announced, somebody emailed me to ask what I thought of Palin. On one hand, she doesn’t seem to take much shit from the oil companies. She talks a good game about rooting out the corruption in Alaskan politics. On the other, my impression of her is that she goes into a situation with her mind already made up, and nothing changes it. Sometimes this has extremely entertaining effects. Others, not so much. Either way, it’s not a trait I want to see in the vice president of the United States. Then again, “Republican” is not a trait I want to see in the VP, so there you go.

Gotta say, this is the first time in history, probably, that Alaskan politics have mattered to the Lower 48….